CHAPTER III. 



NEST-PHOTOGRAPHY. 



NESTS are the natural starting-point for bird- 

 work, and too much care and attention cannot 

 well be paid to them. 



It is obvious that if we cannot make a really 

 satisfactory picture of a nest, an operation which 

 can be performed at our own time and leisure and 

 without the hindrance of a screen, it is nothing 

 short of presumption to attempt the portrayal of 

 a sitting-bird. 



The variety of type of subject in nests is 

 enormous, and there is ample scope here to acquire 

 that general handiness and adaptability which 

 are the prime factors of success in all bird-work. 

 These subjects will serve to show how the kind of 

 result desired varies in a marked degree according 

 to the subject; sometimes a soft, almost flat, 

 negative will best render the idea of protective 

 colouring, while at others a brilliant one may be 

 required to bring out the markings of the eggs, the 

 materials of the nest, or some other special point of 

 interest. But the aim in every case should be to 



